Upright block designing and handling apparatus



Dec. 20, 1960 A. J. sToRER 2,964,859

UPRIGHT BLOCK DESIGNING AND HANDLING APPARATUS Filed April l1, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ARTHUR .JAMES sToRER l uited States Patent'- rce BLOCK DESIGNING AND HANDLING APPARATUS Arthur James Storer, Mackay, Idaho Filed Apr. 11, 1960, sei-.Nit 21,185

s claims. (ci. .ss-73) The present invention relates generally to educational or display means and more particularly to upright block designing and handling apparatus.

The primary object of this invention is to provide block designing apparatus which can be used as an educational toy or for display purposes and utilizes a number of flat, decorative blocks which may be arranged in many different patterns or configurations on a specially adapted board.

Another object of this invention is to provide block designing apparatus in which the block carrying board has means for positively holding each block and can be used in an upright or near upright position without displacement of any blocks.

Another object of this invention is to provide block designing apparatus including a scoop, cooperating blocks and a board, each being of special form, the board being grooved to permit the use of the specially designed scoop lforrapid removal of the cooperating blocks, one row at a time, without'distiirbirig the remainder of `the lFinally, it is an object to provide block designing apparatus of the aforementioned character which is simple and convenient to use and which will give generally efficient and durable service.

With these and other objects deiinitely in view, this invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions, as will be hereinafter fully described in the specication, particularly pointed out in the claims, and illustrated in the drawings which form a material part of this disclosure, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the board with blocks in place and the scoop in use;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectionalview taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a side elevation view, on a reduced scale, showing the board supported in near upright position.

Similar characters of reference indicate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the views of the drawings.

The apparatus includes a board 10, which will be considered as normally disposed in near vertical position, of any suitable size and material according to requirements and a plurality of blocks 12, with substantially flat underside surfaces, which are illustrated as rectangular in shape although other shapes may be used. The board has a plurality of block supporting hangers 14 projecting from the front face thereof, said hangers being arranged in vertical rows and spaced apart a distance equal to the height of one block 12. The hangers 14 are preferably generally wedge shaped and have upwardly sloping lips 16.

Each block 12 has a chamfered upper edge 18 sloping 2,954,859 'Patented Dec. 20, 1960 downwardly and rearwardly from the front face 20 and is provided with a socket 22 adjacent the upper edge in the rear face of the block, said socket having an angularly disposed upper face 24 to correspond with the slope of a hanger lip 16, so that the block lies flat against the board when supported by a hanger, as in Figure 2. The front faces 20 of blocks 12 may be decorated in any suitable manner with patterns, numbers, letters, or other characters which can be arranged in various configurations. Lettered blocks can be used for spelling as an educational toy, or numbered blocks may be used for mathematical training. Alternatively, various colored or patterned blocks can be arranged artistically for display purposes.

For maximum visibility and ease of use, the board 10 may be supported by an easel 26, of any suitable type, in a near upright position, as in Figure 5. For more permanent use, the board can be mounted directly on a wall or other supporting surface.

The board as illustrated is small and carries relatively few blocks, but the apparatus is intended for use in large sizes with many blocks. One problem in such large sizes is the removal of a large number of blocks when changing the arrangement. For this purpose, a scoop 30 is used which cooperates with the board 10 and utilizes the specific block design and means of support for ease of removal.

The scoop 30 comprises a generally rectangular casing 32 having an open upper end 34 and being dirnensioned to hold a plurality of blocks 12 in stacked relation. Fixed to the bottom panel 36 of casing 32 are two longitudinal runners 38' having tapered lguide ramps 40 extending beyond the open end 34. The board 1 0 is provided with vertical pairs of grooves 42 spaced on opposite sides of each vertical row of hangers 14, the runners 38 being freely slidable in said grooves and being of suicient depth to hold the bottom panel 36 slightly above the front faces 20 of the blocks when the runners are seated in the grooves.

When the scoop 30 is moved upwardly with the runners 38 in one pair of grooves 42, the guide ramps 40 lift each block 12 outwardly and into the casing 32, as in Figure 4. The chamfered edge 18 of each block 12 allows the block to move outwardly and off its hanger 14 without disturbing the next block above. With one sweeping action an entire row of blocks can be removed, this being a Very useful factor with large block displays which would otherwise be removed individually by hand. Also, the collected blocks remain in a neat stack when emptied from the scoop.

To avoid displacement of blocks on either side of those being removed, the scoop 30 is provided with retaining fingers 44 projecting forwardly and laterally outwardly of the open end 34, generally planar with the bottom panel 36, so as to ride just above the blocks 12 on either side of the scoop. Thus the blocks immediately adjacent the block being removed are prevented from lifting away from the board. For simplicity, the iingers 44 may be made unitary with the bottom panel 36, or can be made separately and xed in place by suitable means.

With this apparatus, many designs and arrangements of blocks can be quickly set up in any order or position on the board and can be even more quickly removed by sooo-ping directly from the board. Many different materials may be used for the board, blocks and scoop, such as metal, wood, or plastic, depending on the size and particular use of the apparatus.

The operation of this invention will be clearly comprehended from a consideration of the foregoing description of the mechanical details thereof, taken in connection with the drawings and the above recited objects'.y

It is understood that minor variation from the form of the invention disclosed herein may be "made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that the specification and drawings are illustrative rather than limiting.

I claim:

l. Upright block designing and handling apparatus, comprising: a generally flat board having a plurality of individual block supporting means on one face thereof and arranged in spaced rows; a plurality of blocks each having means to engage one of said block supporting means; said board having grooves in said lone face adja cent to and extending parallel to said block supporting means; a scoop having runners engageable in said grooves to guide the scoop along said rows; said runners having forwardly extending, tapered ramp portions to 'engage and lift said blocks vfrom said block supporting means into the scoop,

2. Upright block designing and handling apparatus, comprising: a generally flat board having a plurality of individual block supporting means on one face thereof and arranged in spaced rows; a plurality of blocks each having means to engage one of said block supporting means; said board having grooves in said one face adjacent to and extending parallel to said block supporting means; a scoop having runners engageable in said grooves to guide the scoop along said rows; said runners having forwardly extending, tapered ramp portions to engage and liftfsaid blocks from said block supporting means into the scoop; and Iixed finger elements extending forwardly and laterally of said scoop and disposed to pass closely over the blocks laterally adjacent to those entering Asaid scoop, thereby preventing displacement of the adjacent blocks.

A3. Upright block designing and handling apparatus, comprising: a board having block supporting means on one face thereof; 2a plurality of blocks each having means to engage said blocksupporting means; said board having grooves in said one face adjacent to said block support-a ing means; a scoop having runners engageable in said grooves to guide the scoop; said runners having forwardly extending, tapered ramp portions to engage and lift said blocks from said block supporting means into the scoop.

4. Upright -block designing and 'handling apparatus, comprising: a generally at board having aplurality of individual block supporting means in rows on one face thereof; said block supporting means being hangers and having upwardly sloping lip portions; a plurality of substantially at blocks each having a socket to engage one of said hangers; said sockets having angularly disposed faces to t said lip portions, whereby said blocks are suspended ilat againstv said board; said Vboard having grooves in said 'one face adjacent "to and Aextending parallel to said block supporting means; a scoop having runners engageable fin said grooves toiguide the scoop along said rows; said runners having forwardly extending, tapered 'ramp portions 'to engage and lift "said blocks from said block v'supportingineans'dntothe scoop.

5. Upright block designing and handling apparatus, comprising: a generally at board having a plurality of individual block supporting means in rows on one face thereof; said block supporting -means -being hangers and having upwardly sloping 'lip portions; a plurality 4of blocks each having a substantially flat underface and a socket in said underface to engage one of said hangers; said sockets having angularly disposed vfaces to fit said lip portions, whereby said blocks Lare suspended at against said board; the upper edge of each of said blocks being angularly downwardly chamfered toward said board; said board having grooves in said one face adjacent to and extending parallel to said block supporting means; a scoop having runners engageable in said grooves to guide the scoop along said rows; said runners having forwardly extending, tapered ramp portions to engage and lift said blocks from said block supporting means i-nto the scoop.

vReferences Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STAT-ES IIYQA'ITElN-'T S l '156,959 Tayror Nov. 1'7, 18214 1,229,716 vClark 11111612, y1917 1,598,525 Holt Aug. 31, y19216 2,886,325 Long M'ay 12, 1959 

